SO LONG, CHELSEA

Veteran player John Terry has announced he’s leaving his beloved Stamford Bridge so he can keep on playing soccer

MOST soccer stars swop Premi e r League teams more often than they change their stateofthe- art sponsored boots – but not this one. For the duration of his epic career John Terry has given his time to one club and one club only. The 36-year-old spent an unprecedented 22 years in Chelsea’s iconic blue kit – and his success in the ranks is clear if you look at the sterling stats.

As captain, Terry has led his team to four Premier League titles, four FA Cups, three League Cups and one Uefa Champions League title since 2004, making him their most decorated skipper ever.

He’s also the London club’s all-time highest-scoring defender, with 40 Premier League goals to his name.

But now the veteran player has left Blues fans bereft after announcing he’s leaving Stamford Bridge – his home since his junior league days.

And clearly the feeling is mutual. “It’s with overwhelming emotion that earlier this week the club and I announced this will be my last season as a Chelsea player,” he said in a letter to supporters.

“This has been the toughest decision of my life for me and my family but I always envisaged leaving on the right terms, in the right way and at the right time – and that’s now.

“I feel I still have regular football in me but understand that opportunities here at Chelsea will be limited [given my age] and it’s therefore time for a new challenge.”

It’s anyone’s guess where the star player will showcase his talents next – he’ll decide on his future in due course, he added. But he stressed he still has battles left to fight for Stamford Bridge.

“There’s a long way to go and we’re Compiled by KIRSTIN BUICK committed to ending this campaign on a high,” he says of his boyhood team, which at the time of going to print were at the top of the log, four points ahead of rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

“I’m fully focused on helping the team and manager in every way I can from now until the end of the season.”

WHO’D have thought a workingclass boy from Barking who used to watch his father play for a local club before going off to the pub for a pint would be hailed alongside the greats?

He was just 11 when he was accepted As Chelsea captain, John Terry (left) has led his team to many victories, including the Uefa Champions League title in 2012. Here he celebrates with teammate Raul Meireles.